Pediatricians: Abstinence on the Rise

A new report from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reveals that nearly 60 percent of high school students today have never had sex – an increase of 28 percent since 1991.

In a press statement about the report, the American College of Pediatricians says the news “demonstrates clearly that Sexual Risk Avoidance (SRA), or sexual abstinence, is a relevant message for youth and a goal they can achieve.”

In addition, the College says the CDC’s report also shows that Comprehensive Sex Education (CSE) is “failing.”

“Teens who do choose to engage in sexual activity are using less birth control; sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are on the rise, as is adolescent depression, sometimes referred to as the emotional STI,” the College notes. “Sexual abstinence is the only behavior choice that offers adolescents 100% protection against the triple epidemic of depression, STIs and teen pregnancy due to early sexual debut.”

The groups are jointly attacking “abstinence only” education in a new brief titled “A Call to Action: LGBTQ Youth Need Inclusive Sex Education,” which calls for a “safe and accepting space” for LGBTQ students in schools and the requirement of LGBTQ-inclusive sex education programs in schools.

GLSEN, in fact, wants schools to be required to use instructional time to provide “LGBTQ inclusive education for all students – from crucial guidance for LGBTQ students on protecting themselves from HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, to ensuring safe, supportive environments in which to learn about their sexual health.”

In Arizona – where sex ed is not required – one school board voted to update its curriculum and asked parents for their input, reports Public News Service.

“[F]or some years Planned Parenthood Arizona has taken a leadership role, encouraging both consistency and accuracy in sex-education programs, one school district at a time,” the news report says, continuing:

According to Jodi Liggett, Vice President of Public Affairs for Planned Parenthood Arizona, students need access to accurate, unbiased information to keep them safe.

“The reality is, kids are human beings and it’s natural for them to grow and develop in that way, and they’re going to make their own decisions,” said Liggett. “I mean, we may think we’re in charge – but at a certain point, they’re in the driver’s seat and you are a coach.”

…

Liggett said while teaching abstinence is important, students also need clear, comprehensive information in order to make good life decisions. She said Planned Parenthood’s sex-education approach is to keep the information neutral and fact-based.

“Number one, that we’re consistent across the state; and then number two, that we’re actually protecting kids with medically-accurate information that doesn’t come from any particular perspective,” she explained.

Dr. Michelle Cretella, president of the American College of Pediatricians, tells Breitbart News the CDC’s report shows that Planned Parenthood’s continued push for Comprehensive Sex Education in schools, based on the narrative that “teens are going to have sex anyway,” is “bogus.”

“It is utterly ridiculous for Planned Parenthood to claim sexuality education can be taught in a ‘values neutral’ fashion,” she asserts. “Sexual activity is not values neutral; it is relational – impacting self and others – and therefore a moral matter by definition.”

Cretella adds:

How we treat ourselves and others is not values neutral and acceptable. Sexual behavior goes well beyond Planned Parenthood’s advice to be sure to “obtain consent” to have sex. Moreover, teen pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, depression and suicide are not values neutral. They only visit themselves upon those who are taught not to value sexual abstinence. There is no condom, contraceptive or vaccine to protect the head or the heart. Sex is not child’s play.

“They are far from comprehensive, are written in a way that normalizes and encourages teen sexual activity, and also contain medical inaccuracies,” she states, adding:

This should come as no surprise. Planned Parenthood not only profits from the sale of contraceptives, but also from the sale of abortions due to contraceptive failure, which disproportionately occurs among adolescents. Entrusting our children to Planned Parenthood to receive “comprehensive and medically accurate sexuality education” is like entrusting them to Big Tobacco to receive comprehensive and accurate education about cigarette smoking.

Cretella advises school boards to review the Sexual Risk Avoidance programs featured in SRA Works 2016, which she states are “comprehensive, medically accurate and evidence based, meaning they have been shown to delay sexual debut.”